47th Anniversary of M*A*S*H

That’s right, another year has gone by. M*A*S*H celebrates its 47th anniversary today. CBS broadcast “M*A*S*H — The Pilot” on Sunday, September 17th, 1972 from 8-8:30PM ET. Were you watching? I wasn’t because I wasn’t born yet. I didn’t start watching M*A*S*H until 1998 (or maybe 1999) when it aired on cable channel FX.

If you weren’t watching the series premiere 47 years ago today, but you were watching TV, you may have been enjoying The Wonderful World of Disney on NBC or The FBI on ABC. Both shows performed better than M*A*S*H, which ranked 45th for the week. The Wonderful World of Disney tied for 12th while The FBI ranked 36th.

Learn More About The 1st Episode

I’ve written about “M*A*S*H–The Pilot” a number of times over the past two decades. Here are some highlights:

• 1972 CBS Fall Preview
  Watch the original preview for M*A*S*H, from the CBS fall preview special broadcast by affiliates in early September prior to the start of the 1972-1973 season.

• Promoting the Premiere
  Check out some rare promotional images as well as two press releases for the premiere of M*A*S*H.

• Reviews of the Pilot
  Read four full reviews of the pilot episode plus excerpts from nine additional reviews.

• Episode Spotlight: M*A*S*H — The Pilot
  My review of the very first episode, published in December 2014.

• Music of M*A*S*H: M*A*S*H — The Pilot
  An analysis of all the music heard in the pilot episode, with brief excerpts for your enjoyment.

• Pilot Script: The Place
  An excerpt from Larry Gelbart’s script for “M*A*S*H — The Pilot” describing the location of the series.

• Pilot Script: The People
  Larry Gelbart’s original list of characters from his script for “M*A*S*H — The Pilot.”

Will you be watching “M*A*S*h — The Pilot” in honor of M*A*S*H‘s 47th anniversary?

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References:

“NBC is first out the chute in new Nielsens.” Broadcasting. 2 Oct. 1972: 39.